Resolution against Motorcycle Profiling Before Committees in House and Senate

Earlier this year, several members of the US Congress introduced a resolution which would address the burgeoning trend of motorcycle profiling across the US. Motorcycle rights groups have called on bikers to contact their local representatives and ask them to support the resolution.

Identical versions of the bill on motorcycle profiling were introduced in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as House Resolution 318 and Senate Resolution 154, respectively. These resolutions describe the growing problem of profiling committed against motorcycle riders, resulting in unfair targeting of riders by local and state-level law enforcement. The resolution explains that motorcycle ridership has exploded in the past eight years and that national surveys have found that roughly half of all regular riders have felt as though they’ve been the victim of profiling by law enforcement. The resolution also notes that Washington state—the first state to adopt an anti-motorcycle-profiling law—has seen a 90% drop in complaints of motorcycle profiling since it began training its law enforcement officers to avoid biker profiling. The resolution calls on states to make their officers more aware of the problem of motorcycle profiling, to collaborate with the motorcycle community to find solutions to the problem of profiling, and to condemn the practice of profiling in trainings provided to law enforcement.

The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Rep. Michael C. Burgess of Texas, and Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota. The resolutions are currently before subcommittees of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. So far, the resolutions have 13 sponsors across both houses of Congress. So far, the only California elected official who has come out in favor of the resolution is Rep. Julia Brownley of Thousand Oaks. Constituents can contact their local representatives or senators to encourage them to support the resolutions.

Rep. Mark Pocan explained his support for the bill: “This bipartisan resolution should send a clear message to relevant regulatory and law enforcement agencies across the country: motorcycle profiling has no place on our roads. Instead, we must foster collaboration and cooperation between these agencies and the riders in order to promote safety and ensure all motorists are treated fairly under the law.”

If you’re a biker and have been the victim of profiling by California law enforcement, find out if you have a right to file a lawsuit based on this illegal treatment by contacting the Bay Area law office of attorney William E. Weiss for a consultation, at 415-362-6765.